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AN   ADDRESS 


ON     TIIE 


fife  anfo  Character 


OF 


'30    J/l+~ 


ROBERT  M.  PORTER,  M.D., 

LATE   PROFESSOR  OF   ANATOMY   I.N   IDE   UNIVERSITY   OF   NASnVILLE. 


BY 

JOHN  BERRIEN  LINDSLEY,   M.D., 

CHANCELLOR  OF   TUE    UNIVERSITY. 


DELIVERED  AT  NASHVILLE,  NOV.  8,  1856. 


PUBLISHED     BY     THE     CLASS. 


-—- 


NASHVILLE,  TENN. : 

PRINTED   BY  E.   VALLETTE. 

185G. 


ftlmkrsifjj  of  ftasjjbilk,  %wl, 


November  18th,  1856. 
To  the  Chancellor  of  the  University  : 

Dear  Sir  : — At  a  meeting  of  the  Class  of  the  Medical  Department  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Nashville,  it  was  resolved  that  a  committee  be  appointed,  consisting  of 
one  member  from  each  State,  to  solicit  you  to  furnish  the  Class  with  a  copy  of 
your  very  excellent  eulogy  on  the  Life  and  Character  of  our  much-esteemed  Pro- 
fessor R.  M.  Porter,  deceased,  in  order  that  we  may  publish  the  same.  As  con- 
stituting that  committee,  we  therefore  very  respectfully  and  most  earnestly  solicit 
a  copy  of  said  Address. 

Very  respectfully  your  obedient  servants, 


E.  M.  Dupree,  S.  C„ 
P.  B.  Stovall,  Miss., 
J.  Collins,  N.  Y., 
A.  R.  Alexander,  Ala., 
A.  T.  Lipford,  Fla., 
Jxo.  B.  Finley,  Ark., 
McD.  Blanchard,  Ga., 
J.  R.  G.  Faucett,  N.  C, 


E.  F.  Finney,  R.  I., 

Wm,  R.  Walker,  Cherokee  Nation, 

Ben.  S.  Wood,  Ky., 

W.   G.  Daniel,  Texas, 

G.  T.  Bartlett,  Mo., 

N.  C.  Miller,  Tenn., 

W.  B.  Barrow,  La., 

T.  H.  Bernard,  111. 


Gentlemen : 

I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  note  of  the  13th  instant, 
requesting,  in  behalf  of  the  Medical  Class,  a  copy  of  the  Address  delivered  before 
them. 

With  high  appreciation  of  this  honor,   I  very  cheeerfully  comply  with  the 

request. 

With  great  respect,  your  obedient  servant, 

J.  BERRIEN  LINDSLEY. 

To  E.  M.  Dupree,  -> 

,     .,  >  Committee. 

and  others,        J 


Nashville,  Nov.  14th,  185G. 


ADDRESS. 


The  fashion  of  this  world  passeth  away ;  and  it  matters 
not  how  eagerly  and  earnestly  we  are  devoted  to  the  pur- 
suits of  this  present  life,  or  how  successful  and  useful  in 
carrying  forward  enterprises  of  value  to  our  fellow-men, 
and  productive  of  honor,  esteem,  and  enjoyment  to  our- 
selves ;  death  must  inevitably  come  and  interrupt  it  all. 
The  work  ceases  not :  the  world  goes  on ;  but  our  part  is 
finished.  So  it  has  been  with  all  men  through  all  time. 
So  it  will  be  with  us.  The  cessation  of  life  will  rob  us  of 
the  bright  sun,  the  resplendent  earth,  the  joyous  air,  and 
the  cheering  companionship  of  birds  and  beasts  and  men, 
and  suddenly  bring  all  our  plans  and  purposes,  hopes,  ex- 
pectations, and  fears,  to  an  end. 

This  great  fact,  this  marvellous  change — the  greatest  that 
can  happen  to  any  of  us,  and  which  is  sure  to  happen  to 
each  one  of  us — is,  of  all  things  upon  earth,  the  most  diffi- 
cult to  realize  and  bring  home  to  our  own  consciousness. 

It  is  perhaps  best  comprehended  when  those  with  whom 

(iii) 


we  are  most  intimately  connected  by  ties  of  kindred,  or  by 
association  in  business  or  position,  are  called  away.  Then 
do  we  feel  the  reality,  the  nearness,  and  the  certainty  of 
this  change ;  and  though  human  reason  and  science  cannot 
tear  away  the  dark  veil  enveloping  its  character,  we  can 
yet  rejoice  that  a  beneficent  Creator  has  given  us  a  revela- 
tion which  clears  up  the  mystery,  and  pours  a  flood  of  light 
into  the  gloomy  recesses  of  the  grave. 

Such  is  the  lesson  taught  us  by  the  providence  of  God 
since  last  we  publicly  assembled  as  a  corps  of  teachers  and 
pupils.  One  of  our  number,  active,  earnest,  faithful,  san- 
guine and  devoted  in  the  carrying  out  of  this  undertaking, 
has  been  removed  in  the  prime  of  life,  in  the  midst  of  labors 
of  high  value  to  his  family,  friends,  and  fellow-citizens ;  and 
it  is  now  our  province  to  learn  wisdom  from  this  appoint- 
ment of  God,  and  to  draw  encouragement  and  profitable 
instruction  from  considering  the  life  and  character  of  our 
late  lamented  colleague.  No  greater  riches  can  any  man 
leave  his  family,  friends,  associates,  than  the  memory  of  a 
character  lovely  in  all  its  aspects,  and  of  a  life  stainless  in 
all  its  course.  This  is  an  inheritance  which  prodigal  heirs 
cannot  squander,  which  the  lapse  of  time  only  brightens, 
and  which  will  descend  beyond  all  contingency  to  those 
who  may  own  his  blood  or  name,  even  to  remote  genera- 
tions. Such  was  the  character  possessed  by  our  late  col- 
league, and  such  the  tenor  of  his  life  in  our  midst. 


Well  knowing  that  I  could  bring  before  you  no  example 
better  calculated  to  stimulate,  encourage,  instruct  and  guide 
you  in  the  difficult  career  upon  the  threshold  of  which  you 
now  stand,  than  that  of  Professor  Porter,  I  the  more  will- 
ingly comply  with  the  request  of  the  Medical  Faculty  to 
give,  on  this  occasion,  an  account  of  his  life  and  character. 
Though  simple  and  unadorned,  our  aim  will  be  to  make  this 
account  truthful  and  correct. 

How  uncertain,  may  we  well  exclaim,  are  the  arrange- 
ments of  men !  how  sure  the  appointments  of  God  !  Less 
than  five  months  since,  he  was  preparing  to  fulfil  the  duty 
assigned  him  by  the  Faculty  of  addressing  the  class  at  the 
opening  of  this  session,  upon  some  topic  connected  with 
medicine :  now  another  occupies  his  place  at  the  desk,  and 
himself  is  the  subject  of  discourse. 

Robert  Massengill  Porter  was  born  April  12th,  1818, 
in  this  city. 

His  father,  Alexander  Porter,  emigrated  to  this  country 
in  August,  1793,  from  Donegal  county,  in  the  north  of  Ire- 
land. He  was  of  that  sturdy  race  of  people,  the  Scotch- 
Irish  Presbyterians,  which  has  furnished  to  our  South-west- 
ern cities  and  towns  so  large  a  number  of  prudent,  saga- 
cious, enterprising  and  honorable  citizens.  He  first  settled 
in  Wilmington,  Delaware;  then  in  East  Tennessee;  and 
finally  in  Nashville,  where  he  was  for  many  years  a  success- 


6 

ful  merchant.  He  died  of  the  Asiatic  cholera,  at  Dresden, 
in  the  Western  District  of  Tennessee,  in  April,  1833.  His 
brother,  the  Rev.  James  Porter,  a  Presbyterian  clergyman, 
was  distinguished  for  his  learning,  ability,  and  zeal  for  his 
country's  rights,  as  he  conceived  them.  Rather  than  conceal 
or  renounce  his  political  opinions,  he  preferred  to  lose  his  life ; 
having  been  condemned  to  an  ignominious  death  by  the 
unjust  and  hasty  sentence  of  a  court-martial,  during  the 
troubles  in  Ireland,  in  1798.  The  two  sons  of  this  zealous 
patriot  were  cared  for  by  their  Tennessee  emigrant  uncle, 
and  one  of  them  afterwards  became  widely  known  as  an 
able  jurist,  and  as  United  States  senator  from  Louisiana. 
Firmness  of  purpose,  energy,  prudence,  diligence,  honesty, 
seem  to  have  been  characteristic  of  this  family. 

Massengill  was  the  maiden  name  of  Dr.  Porter's  mother, 
who  was  of  an  influential  family  in  East  Tennessee. 

Dr.  Porter's  youth  was  spent  at  home,  and  his  school  and 
college  education  received  at  Nashville — the  former,  under 
the  instruction  of  Moses  Stevens,  a  gentleman  who  will  be 
long  remembered  in  this  region  as  a  thoroughly  accomplished, 
devoted  and  successful  instructor  of  youth.  He  was  then 
for  four  years  a  member  of  the  Undergraduate  Department 
of  the  University  here,  where  his  teachers  were  President 
Lindsley,  Dr.  Troost,  Professors  Hamilton  and  Abednego 
Stephens — none  of  whom  are  now  living,  but  whose  pupils 
occupy  many  posts  of  honor  and  usefulness,  and  still  delight 


to  recall  with  praise  and  gratitude  these  respected  names. 
His  academic  course  was  marked  throughout  by  exact  and 
punctual  attention  to  all  the  exercises  and  studies  assigned 
him,  by  great  proficiency  in  the  various  branches  taught, 
and  by  a  handsome  uprightness  of  conduct,  which  won  for 
him  the  warm  esteem  of  his  instructors,  as  one  in  whose 
future  usefulness  they  would  reap  the  reward  of  their  zeal 
and  disinterested  love  of  a  profession  irksome  in  its  nature, 
and  most  niggardly  inadequate  in  its  material  compensation. 
His  uniform  correct  deportment,  open,  ingenuous,  and  gentle- 
manly manners,  gave  him  also  a  high  place  in  the  affections 
of  his  school  and  classmates.  He  seems  while  at  college  to 
have  paid  special  attention  to  the  exercises  of  the  Societies, 
speaking,  debating,  and  writing.  When  a  member  of  the 
Senior  Class,  he  represented  the  Erosophian  Society,  at  the 
"  Spring  Speaking."  His  oration  on  this  occasion,  on 
"American  History,"  made  a  strong  impression  on  many 
who  heard  it  as  indicative  of  learning,  judgment,  and  re- 
fined polish,  which  would  certainly  secure  future  eminence 
to  the  writer.  Among  my  earliest  recollections  of  college 
life  is  a  distinct  remembrance  of  the  remarks  made  about 
this  speech,  which,  by  the  way,  was  one  of  eight  delivered 
by  young  men  of  unusual  brilliance  and  promise,  a  larger 
proportion  of  whom  than  is  usual  with  the  actors  in  college 
exhibitions,  have  redeemed  the  promise  thus  given  and 
justified  the  expectations  thus  raised. 


He  received  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts  in  October 
1836,  and  in  November  entered  the  Law  Department 
of  Harvard  University  at  Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  where 
he  remained  for  nearly  two  years,  under  the  tuition  of  the 
distinguished  jurists,  Story  and  Greenleaf.  He  commenced 
the  study  of  Law  with  many  misgivings  as  to  whether  his 
aversion  to  public  speaking  and  mingling  with  men  would 
ever  allow  him  to  pursue  the  practice.  However,  he  was 
young,  and  had  means,  and  no  subject  was  better  fitted  to 
engage  his  attention  as  a  branch  of  useful  and  entertaining 
knowledge.  On  the  29th  of  August,  1838,  he  was  gradu- 
ated as  Bachelor  of  Laws,  without  being  present  at  the  Com- 
mencement. After  leaving  Cambridge,  he  pursued  his  legal 
studies  for  nearly  a  year  in  Louisiana,  with  his  cousin, 
Judge  Alexander  Porter. 

He  then  returned  to  Nashville,  and  on  December  4th, 
1838,  was  married  to  Mary  Wharton,  daughter  of  William 
Williams,  Esq.,  of  this  vicinity.  The  following  letter  from 
Judge  Story,  addressed  to  him  on  this  occasion,  may  be 
regarded  as  illustrative  of  the  friendly  interest  in  Iris  welfare 
with  which  he  always  succeeded  in  inspiring  his  teachers : 

Washington,  Januaet  17,  1839. 

My  Dear  Sir  :  I  have  transmitted  your  Diploma,  which  I 
brought  from  Cambridge,  to  the  Hon.  Mr.  Bell,  according  to 
your  suggestion.     Allow  me  to  congratulate  you  on  your 


9 

admission  to  the  Bar,  and  still  more  so  upon  your  marriage. 
It  is  a  source  of  sincere  pleasure  to  me  that  you  have  thus 
become  allied  to  one  of  my  early  friends  and  classmates, 
whose  purity  of  character  and  high  intellectual  qualities 
have  always  commanded  my  warmest  respect  and  praise. 
Give  my  kindest  regards  to  your  wife,  and  assure  her  that 
I  shall  ever  take  the  liveliest  interest  in  her  welfare,  and 
that  I  feel  proud  that  one  of  my  own  pupils,  every  way  de- 
serving of  her  affection,  has  had  the  good  fortune  to  obtain 
her  hand.  May  you  live  together  in  happiness  many,  many 
years,  and  possess,  what  is  above  all  price,  that  mutual  de- 
voted love,  which  gives  the  highest  charm  to  prosperity, 
and  softens,  and  soothes,  and  cheers  the  heart  even  in  the 
darkest  hours  of  adversity. 

Pray  give  my  truest  respects  to  Mr.  Williams,  and  as- 
sure him  that  as  we  are  descending  into  the  vale  of  life  I 
feel  it  among  my  best  consolations,  that,  distant  as  we  have 
been  from  each  other,  I  have  been  enabled  to  hold  a  place 
in  his  friendship. 

I  am  affectionately  your  friend, 

Joseph  Story. 

This  marriage,  the  fruition  of  an  early  formed  and  de- 
voted attachment,  was  destined  to  shed  happiness  upon  only 
a  brief  portion  of  his  days,  as  Mrs.  Porter  lived  but  a  few~ 
months  after  their  union :  she  died  March  21st,  1839. 


10 

His  hopes  of  domestic  happiness  and  plans  of  life,  thus 
rudely  broken  in  upon  by  the  hand  of  death,  inclined  him 
to  seek  retirement  from  the  world,  and  taught  him  a  severe, 
but  doubtless  salutary  lesson,  on  the  vanity  of  all  human 
expectations.  He  connected  himself  with  the  Presbyterian 
Church  in  this  city,  and  in  June,  1840,  became  a  student 
in  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Princeton,  New  Jersey. 
Here,  pursuing  his  studies  with  his  usual  diligence,  he  won 
a  high  standing  among  the  six  score  young  men  then  assem- 
bled in  the  halls  of  the  Seminary,  from  every  portion  of 
the  Union.  I  visited  Princeton  while  he  was  there,  and 
found  him  a  general  favorite  for  his  amiable  and  noble  quali- 
ties, and  highly  respected  for  his  scholarship.  On  the  15th 
of  May,  1843,  he  received  the  certificate  of  having  com- 
pleted the  entire  Theological  course  to  the  satisfaction  of 
his  professors — the  two  Alexanders,  Samuel  Miller,  and 
Charles  Hodge. 

He  did  not,  however,  apply  to  Presbytery  for  license  to 
preach ;  but  at  once  turned  his  attention  to  the  study  of 
the  profession  which  was  to  be  his  true  calling,  and  which 
had  been  his  father's  choice  for  him.  He  went  to  Philadel- 
phia, and  commenced  the  study  of  Medicine  under  the  pre- 
ceptorship  of  Dr.  Hugh  L.  Hodge,  professor  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  Pennsylvania.  He  brought  to  the  study  of  this 
comprehensive  and  difficult  science,  a  mind  not  only  well 
disciplined  by  legal  and  theological  studies,  but  also  stored 


11 

with  much  information  derived  from  them  of  great  value  to 
the  physician,  and  by  far  too  often  slighted  by  medical 
men.  Particularly  was  his  theological  course  of  service,  as 
having  led  him  to  pay  great  attention  to  the  mental  and 
moral  nature  of  man.  If  there  is  any  one  defect  in  the 
curriculum  of  medical  education  more  prominent  than  all 
others,  it  is  a  neglect  of  these  subjects.  Man  is  too  much 
treated  of  as  a  mere  material  mechanism,  and  the  mysteri- 
ous but  mighty  influence  of  the  passions,  affections,  and  in- 
tellectual powers  upon  his  physical  nature,  too  little  under- 
stood or  recognized. 

In  consideration  of  his  intention  to  prosecute  his  studies 
abroad,  the  Medical  Faculty  waived  the  rule  requiring  three 
years'  study,  and  admitted  him  to  the  Doctorate,  at  the 
Commencement  of  the  Medical  Department  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  Pennsylvania,  held  April  the  4th,  1845. 

He  immediately  set  out  on  a  professional  visit  to  Europe, 
that  he  might  profit  by  the  facilities  offered  in  the  conti- 
nental capitals  of  pursuing  special  studies,  and  also  that 
before  confining  himself  to  the  drudgery  of  the  practice  of 
medicine  he  might  see  something  of  the  Old  World,  and  get 
whatever  of  good  could  be  derived  from  foreign  travel.  He 
arrived  in  Paris  on  the  24th  of  May,  and  went  to  work  studying 
the  language,  perfecting  himself  in  Anatomy,  and  prosecut- 
ing various  private  or  special  courses  of  instruction,  particu- 
larly on  subjects  belonging  to  practical  medicine  and  surgery. 


12 

While  in  Europe,  whether  making  long  sojourns  in  the 
cities,  or  merely  tours  of  observation,  he  was  ever  the  dili- 
gent student,  wasting  no  time,  making  medicine  his  first 
business,  yet  taking  a  lively  interest  in  other  matters 
worthy  of  note.  The  works  of  the  great  masters  in  archi- 
tecture, sculpture  and  painting,  the  manners,  customs  and 
condition  of  the  people,  and  the  beautiful  or  sublime  scenes 
of  nature,  all  enlisted  his  eager  attention,  and  afforded  him 
great  enjoyment. 

One  characteristic  belonging  to  him  in  a  marked  degree 
is  fully  and  strongly  displayed  in  his  European  correspond- 
ence— an  intense  American  feeling.  Ear  from  being  daz- 
zled by  the  splendor  of  accumulated  ages,  there  seen  in 
monarchical  wealth  and  power,  enormous  armies,  fairy-like 
palaces  and  churches,  immense  collections  in  art,  science 
and  nature,  and  varied,  well-furnished  institutions  of  learn- 
ing, he  looked  beyond  this  gay  and  glittering  outside,  and 
saw  within  the  signs  of  decrepitude,  weakness,  and  decay. 
Hence  he  turned  with  increased  affection  and  longing  to  his 
native  America,  with  enlarged  views  of  its  capability  for  a 
happy  and  glorious  destiny,  and  with  earnest  hope  that 
upon  its  soil  a  nation  should  flourish  with  all  the  high  civil- 
ization and  art  of  the  European  world,  but  without  the 
defects  inherited  from  an  ancient  barbarism. 

After  visiting  Italy,  Germany,  England,  Scotland,  and 
Ireland,  he  returned  to  the  United  States,  in  December. 


13 

1847,  and  soon  afterwards  opened  an  office  in  Nashville. 
He  doubted  much  the  propriety  of  selecting  his  native  in 
preference  to  a  distant  city,  as  his  home ;  but  having  made 
the  choice,  he  resolved  to  apply  himself  to  his  profession, 
and  patiently  bide  his  time.  When,  nearly  four  years  sub- 
sequently, the  Medical  Department  of  the  University  was 
established,  his  professional  reputation,  as  well  as  previous 
well-used  advantages  for  a  thorough  training,  led  the  Trus- 
tees and  Physicians  projecting  the  school  earnestly  to 
solicit  his  acceptance  of  the  important  chair  of  Anatomy 
and  Physiology. 

On  July  14th,  1852,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Mrs. 
Felicia  Grundy  Eakin,  widow  of  the  late  William  Eakin, 
Esq.,  and  daughter  of  Felix  Grundy,  late  United  States' 
Senator  from  Tennessee.  She  is  left  to  mourn  his  loss, 
with  one  little  boy,  around  whom  are  clustered  many 
hopes. 

On  July  the  1st,  1856,  he  ceased  to  live,  after  an  illness 
of  six  weeks,  and  with  a  perplexing  complication  of  symp- 
toms. The  case  was  doubtless  rendered  fatal  by  the  imbi- 
bition of  a  blood-poison  taken  into  the  system  May  27th, 
from  dissecting  an  offensive  subject,  while  lecturing  to  the 
summer  class  then  assembled.  He  seems  always  to  have 
been  exceedingly  susceptible  to  injury  from  the  offensive 
attendants  upon  the  dissecting-room,  almost  amounting  to 
an  idiosyncrasy.     In  his  letters  from  Philadelphia  and  Paris 


14 

we  find  repeated  mention  of  his  having  thus  been  made 
sick,  and  compelled  for  a  time  to  suspend  his  anatomical 
studies.* 

But  though  the  immediate  cause  of  his  death  was  extra- 
ordinary, and  out  of  our  apprehension,  yet  the  main  cause 
is  common  to  us  all.  The  time  appointed  for  him  to  go  the 
way  of  all  flesh  had  come.  This  closes  our  brief  narrative, 
and  all  similar  narratives — yours  and  mine  after  a  little 
time,  perhaps  a  very  short  time.  Had  it  not  been  that  I 
feared  to  weary  your  patience,  his  varied  correspondence 
would  have  furnished  rich  material  for  a  fuller  and  more 
interesting,  because  more  detailed,  narration. 

Having  thus  imperfectly  followed  Prof.  Porter  through 
his  long  and  thorough  and  costly  preparation  for  the  duties 
of  active  life,  and  his  brief  professional  term  of  service,  we 

*  The  statement  here  made,  in  regard  to  the  cause  and  nature  of  Dr.  Porter's 
last  illness,  is  based  on  an  opinion  expressed  by  the  undersigned,  who  was  Dr. 
P.'s  attending  physician.  Its  correctness  is  proved  by  the  history  and  the  symp- 
toms of  the  disorder.  Dr.  P.,  on  the  27th  of  May  last,  when  the  heat  of  the  wea- 
ther was  and  had  been  for  some  days  extreme  for  the  season,  opened,  in  presence  of 
his  class  of  pupils,  a  body  far  advanced  in  putrefaction,  and  made  it  the  subject  of 
anatomical  demonstration  during  a  period  of  two  hours.  The  odor  emitted  was  so 
offensive  that  some  of  his  audience  were  driven  to  the  windows,  and  others  without 
the  room.  On  the  succeeding  day  he  was  seized  with  a  chill,  followed  by  a  fever, 
the  malignant  character  of  which  clearly  attested  its  extraordinary  origin.  One 
of  the  most  remarkable  of  his  symptoms,  as  most  indicative  of  the  source  of  his 
disease,  was  the  presence,  without  intermission,  as  he  himself  described  it,  of  the 
odor  in  his  nostrils,  and  the  taste  in  his  mouth,  of  the  effluvia  of  the  dissecting- 
room,  in  their  most  offensive  forms. 

Tiios.  R.  Jennings. 


15 

come  now  to  note  the  result,  and  to  see  what  manner  of 
man  he  was  in  society,  and  how  he  fulfilled  the  duties  of 
the  most  difficult  and  responsible  of  the  learned  professions, 
and  discharged  the  obligations  of  a  high  public  station.  We 
shall  find  that  he  had  not  labored  thus  long  in  vain,  and 
that  all  his  varied  training  was  admirably  fitted  to  prepare 
him  for  the  position  he  was  destined  to  occupy. 

As  a  member  of  society  in  a  city  of  note  and  influence  in 
the  extensive  region  of  country  to  which  it  is  naturally  the 
capital,  his  deportment  was  such  as  in  a  remarkable  degree 
to  secure  the  good  will  and  high  appreciation  of  the  entire 
community.  Of  a  diffident  and  retiring  disposition,  he  was 
averse  to  taking  any  steps  that  would  bring  him  prominently 
before  the  public.  And  doubtless  many  of  his  friends,  who 
knew  how  faithfully  he  had  used  his  rich  opportunities  for 
mental  improvement,  were  disappointed  at  the  modest,  quiet, 
and  unpretending  manner  in  which  he  commenced  his  pro- 
fessional course.  He  was  as  devoid  of  all  pretension,  and 
as  little  disposed  to  show  off,  as  the  most  sensitive  maiden 
could  possibly  be.  He  possessed,  however,  sterling  quali- 
ties of  heart  and  head,  which  more  than  counterbalanced 
what,  in  this  age  of  earnest  competition  and  active  pushing 
ahead,  can  hardly  be  esteemed  a  failing  or  defect,  but  from 
its  rareness  must  rather  be  considered  a  virtue,  resulting 
from  the  consciousness  of  high  qualification  and  merit,  and 
from  a  proud  and  noble  independence  of  spirit.     These  qua- 


16 

lities  gave  him  among  his  fellow-citizens  a  repute  and  esteem 
which  any  one  at  the  close  of  a  long  life  might  be  proud  to 
have  attained. 

He  was  of  an  amiable  and  kindly  disposition ;  the  last 
person  to  wound,  by  act  or  word,  his  neighbor.  Where  he 
could  not  speak  well,  he  preferred  to  remain  silent.  Where 
he  had  it  in  his  power  to  do  good,  he  did  it  quietly  and 
without  ostentation.  His  left  hand  knew  not  what  his  right 
did.  Hence  in  his  daily  walk  he  made  many  friends,  and 
no  enemies. 

He  was  a  man  of  strict  integrity  and  uprightness.  His 
word  was  as  good  as  his  bond.  If  he  swore  to  his  own 
hurt,  he  would  not  change.  He  would  at  any  time  rather 
be  injured  in  property  than  injure  another.  He  was  truly 
a  specimen  of  that  noble  old-fashioned  scriptural  honesty  of 
principle  and  conduct,  without  which  no  one  can  be  a  really 
good  member  of  society,  or  worthy  to  possess  the  confidence 
of  his  fellow-men ;  and  without  which  human  society  itself 
is  but  a  collection  of  impostors,  a  den  of  thieves. 

He  possessed  a  clear  head  and  sound  judgment,  which 
gave  weight  to  his  opinions,  and  secured  to  him  the  utmost 
confidence  of  those  associated  with  him  as  friends,  relatives, 
or  colleagues.  All  such  persons — and  the  list  was  numer- 
ous— regarded  him  as  a  wise  and  safe  counsellor,  and  never 
regretted  having  followed  his  deliberately-given  judgment. 
Indeed,  he  was  not  inclined  to  render  an  opinion  hastily,  but 


17 

would  generally  ask  time  to  think  upon  the  matter;  and 
then  you  could  not  alter  his  opinion,  and  the  event  would 
prove  its  accuracy. 

He  was  a  man  of  firmness  and  decision.  Cautious,  but 
sure  in  arriving  at  a  conclusion,  conviction  or  purpose,  when 
once  formed  he  adhered  to  it  with  the  utmost  tenacity. 
There  was  no  fickleness  of  purpose  or  action  with  him. 
Difficulties  would  not  deter  him,  nor  labor  turn  him  from  his 
plan.  This  is  seen  in  the  diligence  and  zeal  with  which  he 
pursued  the  study  of  anatomy.  Though  again  and  again 
made  sick  in  the  dissecting-room,  he  again  and  again 
returned  to  the  loathsome  work,  but  attractive  study,  until 
he  had  become  an  accomplished  surgeon  and  anatomist. 
As  it  regards  practical  success  in  life,  this  decision  of 
character  happily  counterpoised  his  diffidence  and  aversion 
to  public  display.  Without  it,  his  thorough  professional 
preparation,  and  advantages  arising  from  wealth  and  posi- 
tion, would  have  been  of  no  avail. 

He  was  a  man  of  Christian  faith  and  hope,  and  conse- 
quently of  pure,  unblemished  life  and  morals.  From  a 
mother's  lips  he  first  learned  the  lessons  of  Christian  piety;, 
which  at  school  and  college  were  again  enforced,  and 
afterwards  confirmed  by  the  experience  of  early  manhood 
teaching  him  the  vanity  of  human  plans  and  wishes.  Like 
all  of  us,  he  had  his  times  of  doubt  and  difficulty ;  for  who 
can   mingle   in   this    changeful,  fleeting,  uncertain,  varied. 


18 

world  of  men,  and  not  be  puzzled,  perplexed,  amazed, 
troubled  at  the  mystery  of  life  ?  But  the  root  of  the  mat- 
ter was  in  him,  and  he  not  only  died  but  lived  as  a  Chris- 
tian. When  this  is  said,  all  is  said  :  no  higher  eulogium  can 
be  passed  upon  a  friend,  companion  or  associate.  Nor  need 
we  wonder  that  a  whole  community  was  filled  with  grief  at 
his  untimely  end ;  that  those  who  knew  him  intimately,  r 
and  those  whose  knowledge  was  that  of  mere  ordinary 
acquaintance,  were  so  concerned  when  they  heard  of  his 
dangerous  illness,  and  manifested  such  sorrow  when  they 
learned  that  he  was  no  more.  From  early  childhood  have 
I  known  this  goodly  city,  and  truly  can,  with  all  who  thus 
know  it,  bear  testimony  that  it  is  a  place  where  feelings  of 
good  neighborhood  and  kindly  sympathy  have  ever  abounded; 
and  never  was  there  a  more  striking  manifestation  of  this 
fact  than  on  the  occasion  of  Dr.  Porter's  illness  and  death. 
Then  was  it  seen  how  strong  is  the  hold  which  an  ingenu- 
<  ous  and  profitably  spent  season  of  youth,  followed  by  an 
upright  and  Christian  walk  in  life,  can  give  one,  even  in 
the  prime  of  life,  upon  a  large  community,  who  have  either 
witnessed  his  youth  or  been  companions  of  his  manhood. 

As  a  physician,  the  character  of  Dr.  Porter  will  furnish  a 
.subject  for  profitable  and  instructive  study.     He  combined 
'in  a  high  degree  those  qualities  and  attainments  which  give 
dignity  and  grace  to  the  profession,  which  from  the  remo- 
test periods  of  history  have  procured  it  great  honor  among 


19 

men,  and  which,  so  long  as  humanity  continues  subject  to 
physical  ailments,  will  continue  to  secure  it  a  first  place  in 
the  esteem  and  respect  of  society. 

He  had  exalted  views  of  his  profession,  as  to  its  dignity, 
responsibility  and  utility.  He  did  not  undertake  either  the 
study  or  the  practice  of  medicine  merely  because  it  fur- 
nished the  means  of  gaining  a  comfortable  or  easy  liveli- 
hood, but  because  it  gave  opportunities  for  making  exten- 
sive progress  in  knowledge,  and  of  doing  good  continually 
and  disinterestedly  to  his  fellow-men.  It  was  with  him  as 
it  is  with  all  men  who  truly  succeed  in  the  professions 
called  liberal.  He  loved  his  profession  for  its  own  sake,  he 
studied  it  for  its  own  sake,  and  practised  from  the  same 
motive.  This  is  the  peculiar  honor  and  reward  of  the 
learned  professions,  Theology,  Law  and  Medicine.  As 
branches  of  human  knowledge,  they  are  in  the  highest 
degree  attractive;  teaching  the  mysteries  of  Divine  and 
human  nature ;  showing  the  rights  and  duties  man  owes  to 
his  fellow ;  or  explaining  the  wonders  of  man's  physical 
conformation,  and  the  secrets  of  disease,  health,  and  cure. 
As  conferring  that  power  which  ever  accompanies  the  pos- 
session of  knowledge,  they  are  also  invested  with  a  singu- 
lar charm;  those  who  are  proficients,  having  the  happy 
consciousness  of  being  able,  under  God,  to  furnish  peace 
and  consolation  to  the  desolate  and  afflicted,  of  procuring 
justice  for  the  wronged  and  oppressed,  and  of  restoring 


20 

health  and  soundness  to  the  diseased  and  suffering.  These 
considerations  more  than  compensate  the  earnest,  true- 
hearted  minister,  jurist,  or  physician,  for  the  fact  that  his 
calling  does  not  open  the  way  to  the  acquisition  of  great 
wealth  and  luxury,  in  any  thing  like  an  equal  degree  with 
those  pursuits  which  are  connected  with  the  material  wants 
and  welfare  of  men. 

Entering  the  profession  with  these  views,  Dr.  Porter 
faithfully  and  conscientiously  prepared  himself  for  the  dis- 
charge of  its  arduous  and  responsible  duties.  Noth with- 
standing his  ample  and  extensive  course  of  study  previous 
to  commencing  that  of  medicine,  he  neither  abridged  nor 
hurried  through  with  his  medical  education.  On  the  con- 
trary, he  devoted  to  its  prosecution  more  time  than  do  the 
majority  of  those  who  enter  upon  the  practice  at  the  present 
day.  He  knew  that  the  offer  of  his  services  to  the  public 
as  a  physician  would  render  him  liable  at  any  time  to  be 
called  upon  to  act  in  cases  where  not  merely  a  few  days 
more  or  less  of  sickness  and  pain,  but  often  the  patient's 
recovery  and  life,  would  depend  upon  his  knowledge  and 
judgment  and  skill.  This  was,  in  his  estimation,  a  most 
grave  and  weighty  liability,  not  to  be  hastily  assumed  or 
carelessly  discharged ;  so  he  did  not  commence  the  practice 
of  medicine  until  he  had  made  himself  well  grounded  in  its 
principles,  and  had  seen  and  studied  thoroughly  the  varying 
phases  of  disease.     Even  then  we  find  him  shrinking  back, 


21 

and  writing,  "As  the  time  approaches,  I  dread  more  and 
more  to  commence  practice." 

After  getting  fairly  under  way  as  a  practitioner  of  medi- 
cine, he  still  retained  his  habits  as  a  diligent  student,  and 
was  careful  to  preserve  his  knowledge  of  elementary  medi- 
cine fresh  and  bright,  always  ready  for  use,  and  also  to  keep 
pace  with  the  improvements  in  this  progressive  art  and 
science.  He  knew  too  well  the  necessity  of  continued  study 
to  the  maintenance  of  an  active,  fruitful,  vigorous  intellect, 
to  allow  himself  to  become  a  mental  sluggard.  He  was  too 
ambitious,  as  well  as  too  conscientious,  to  be  willing  to  sink 
to  the  Ioav  level  of  the  mere  routinist.  The  duty  of  working 
earnestly  to  keep  up  with  his  profession  was,  in  his  eyes,  of 
equal  importance  with  that  of  preparing  for  it  at  the  outset. 

Thus  loving  his  profession,  and  thus  devoting  himself  to 
its  studies,  we  would  naturally  expect  to  find  him  not  defi- 
cient in  faithful  attention  to  the  necessities  and  wants  of 
the  sick.  Prompt  to  attend  their  call,  punctual  to  his  en- 
gagements with  them,  he  bore  himself  with  such  graceful 
ease,  and  kindness,  and  gentleness  in  the  sick-room,  and 
yet  with  such  self-possession,  and  evident  assurance  of 
being  at  home  there,  as  to  win  the  confidence  as  well  as  love 
and  gratitude  of  his  patients.  And  although,  as  a  practi- 
tioner in  a  city  with  an  able  faculty,  well  established  in 
their  respective  spheres,  and  where  he  labored  under  the 
disadvantage  of  being  at  home,  he  was  still  but  a  young 


22 

doctor  at  the  time  of  his  decease,  he  yet  had  the  satisfac- 
tion of  knowing  that  these  qualities  were  highly  appreciated 
by  the  public.  For  notwithstanding  his  utter  aversion  to 
show,  and  refusal  to  push  himself  forward,  few  physicians 
in  Nashville  have,  in  the  same  term  of  service,  obtained  so 
wide  and  influential  and  valuable  a  practice. 

He  was  equally  faithful  and  correct  in  the  discharge  of 
his  duty  towards  his  brethren  of  the  same  profession.  A 
high-toned  gentleman,  he  was  far  above  any  of  those  unwor- 
thy practices  by  which  members  of  the  profession  too  often 
degrade  themselves,  in  endeavoring  unduly  to  advance  their 
own  interests  at  the  expense  of  their  fellow-physicians. 
He  avoided,  as  he  would  a  plague-spot,  every  approach  to 
any  thing  like  depreciation  of  the  skill,  knowledge,  or  ability 
of  others,  in  order  indirectly  to  exalt  his  own.  In  his  in- 
tercourse with  their  patients  he  was  scrupulously  guarded, 
that  he  might  by  no  possibility  impose  himself  upon  them, 
or  utter  any  word  that  would  undermine  their  confidence  in 
their  physicians.  In  his  personal  behavior  to  his  fellows 
he  was  kind,  respectful,  courteous,  and  was  a  favorite  with 
the  profession  of  the  city.  Having  no  envy  or  jealousy  in 
his  composition,  he  was  ever  ready  to  accord  to  others  their 
due  meed  of  praise  for  learning  and  skill,  and  not  unhappy 
at  witnessing  their  well-earned  success.  Few  men  have,  in 
turn,  met  with  so  hearty  and  cheerful  a  recognition  of  pro- 
fessional ability  and  worth. 


23 

An  amusing  incident,  occurring  early  in  his  professional 
life,  is  related  of  him,  which  well  illustrates  his  conscien- 
tious faithfulness  to  his  patients,  and  at  the  same  time  his 
energetic  contempt  for  unprofessional  meanness,  and  charac- 
teristic determination  not  to  be  imposed  upon.  He  had  a 
case  of  dislocation,  which  he  could  not  succeed  in  reducing. 
After  several  attempts,  he  very  honestly  told  his  patient, 
that  although  he  had  failed,  yet  the  injury  could  be  and 
ought  to  be  remedied,  and  advised  him  to  send  for  another 
doctor.  Accordingly  Dr.  ■ was  called  in.  So  de- 
lighted was  he  to  be  sent  for  in  a  case  which  Dr.  Porter 
had  given  up,  that  he  must  needs  make  the  circuit  of  the 
city  to  let  his  medical  acquaintance  know  how  great  a  man 
he  was.  Some  of  them,  astonished  that  so  poor  a  stick 
should  be  called  upon  to  supply  the  lack  of  service  of  a  man 
of  Porter's  recognized  ability  and  skill,  mentioned  to  the 
latter  how  his  substitute  was  endeavoring  to  make  capital 
at  his  expense.  The  Doctor  at  once  called  for  his  buggy, 
drove  to  his  out-of-joint  patient,  ordered  him  down  on  his 

back,  and  in  a  trice  had  his   arm  in  place.     Dr. ■ 

arrived  soon  after,  and  to  his  astonishment  found  that  Dr. 
Porter  had  not  failed. 

Among  the  characteristics  of  the  good  physician  there  is 
one,  the  most  lovely  for  its  moral  beauty  and  excellence, 
the  most  noble  for  the  self-sacrificing  spirit  it  demands,  and 
the  most  divine  because  of  the  vast  amount  of  misery  it 


24 

relieves  without  money  and  without  price,  which  is  espe- 
cially the  glory  and  the  crown  of  the  medical  profession. 
It  is  a  devotion  to  the  wants  of  the  poor  with  the  same 
zeal,  patience,  attention  and  care,  as  though  they  were  the 
richest  of  the  land ;  a  devotion,  too,  ever  most  needed  and 
most  practised  in  times  of  extensive  epidemics  and  frightful 
pestilences ;  a  devotion  which  demands  for  the  physician's 
calling  the  courage  and  self-immolating  spirit  of  the  soldier, 
without  being  sustained  by  the  stimulus  of  company,  and 
excited  to  action  by  the  pomp  and  circumstance  of  war ;  a 
devotion  than  which  humanity  calls  into  play  and  requires 
none  higher. 

This  element  of  the  physician's  character  belonged  in  an 
eminent  degree  to  Dr.  Porter.  He  seems  to  have  regarded 
it  as  one  of  the  highest  privileges  of  the  profession,  and 
was  ever  ready  to  recognize  his  obligations  to  work  accord- 
ingly. He  admired  and  applauded  this  devotion  in  others. 
He  was  ready  to  practise  it  himself.  While  a  medical  stu- 
dent he  writes  from  Paris  :  "  But  I  must  be  allowed  to  pay 
a  tribute  of  respect  to  certain  members  of  that  [the  Roman 
Catholic]  denomination  —  the  Sisters  of  Charity.  They 
have  won  my  admiration.  They  serve  in  all  the  hospitals 
here,  and  I  have  seen  them  so  often  administering  consola- 
tion to  the  sick  and  the  dying,  that  I  cannot  look  upon 
them  with  other  than  feelings  of  the  highest  regard.  A 
short  time  ago  I  was  following  an  eminent  physician  through 


25 

his  wards  at  the  hospital,  and  we  came  to  the  bed  of  a  pa- 
tient whose  face  was  covered  with  the  eruption  of  that 
loathsome  disease,  the  small-pox.  The  sight  was  hideous. 
By  his  side  was  standing  a  beautiful  girl,  with  all  the  bloom 
and  freshness  and  modesty  of  youth  upon  her  cheek.  I 
paused  a  moment  to  admire  her  devotion,  and  then  hurried 
away  to  escape  the  contagion." 

A  few  years  have  passed  away :  the  scene  is  changed 
from  the  banks  of  the  beautiful  Seine,  with  its  crowded 
population,  to  the  banks  of  the  distant  but  no  less  beautiful 
Cumberland.  His  own  dying-hour  is  at  hand.  He  is  called 
to  leave  every  thing  that  makes  life  desirable — family, 
friends,  estate,  and  honorable  usefulness.  His  bedside  is 
surrounded  by  those  who  weep  as  kindred  and  intimate 
associates  ;  and  there  too  are  the  Sisters  of  Charity,  devoted 
in  their  kind  offices,  and  as  earnest  in  their  grief  as  though 
they  watched  by  the  bedside  of  a  brother.  And  so  it  is ; 
for  they  are  there  not  because  he  has  need,  but  because 
they  have  so  often  met  him  ministering  to  the  sick  poor, 
and  combating  the  dreaded  pestilence  with  like  faith  and 
zeal  as  themselves. 

But  time  will  not  permit  me  to  dwell  upon  these  points 
as  I  would  wish.  As  a  summing  up,  I  may  say  that  the 
professional  character  of  our  late  colleague  has  always 
seemed  to  me  to  come  as  near  as  possible  to  a  realization 


26 

of  the  principles  of  the  Hippocratic  oath,  combined  with  a 
humanizing  Christian  element.* 

We  must  now  very  briefly  refer  to  Dr.  Porter's  public 
life  as  Professor  of  Anatomy  in  the  University  of  Nash- 
ville, and  as  one  of  the  founders  of  its  flourishing  Medical 
Department. 


*  This  famous  ancient  code  of  Medical  Ethics,  drawn  up  by  Hippocrates,  or  at 
least  as  ancient  as  his  times,  is  thus  rendered  in  Smith's  Dictionary  of  Greek  and 
Roman  Antiquities:  "I  swear  by  Apollo  the  Physician,  by  iEsculapius,  by  Hygeia 
and  Panaceia,  and  all  the  gods  and  goddesses,  calling  them  to  witness  that  I  will 
fulfil  religiously,  according  to  the  best  of  my  power  and  judgment,  the  solemn  pro- 
mise and  the  written  bond  which  I  now  do  make.  I  will  honor  as  my  parents  the 
master  who  taught  me  this  art,  and  endeavor  to  minister  to  all  his  necessities.  I 
will  consider  his  children  as  my  own  brothers,  and  will  teach  them  my  profession, 
should  they  express  a  desire  to  follow  it,  without  remuneration  or  written  bond. 
I  will  admit  to  my  lessons,  my  discourses,  and  all  my  other  methods  of  teaching, 
my  own  sons,  and  those  of  my  tutor,  and  those  who  have  been  inscribed  as  pupils, 
and  have  taken  the  medical  oath ;  but  no  one  else.  I  will  prescribe  such  a  course 
of  regimen  as  may  be  best  suited  to  the  condition  of  my  patients,  according  to  the 
best  of  my  power  and  judgment,  seeking  to  preserve  them  from  any  thing  that 
might  prove  injurious.  No  inducement  shall  ever  lead  me  to  administer  poison, 
nor  will  I  ever  be  the  author  of  such  advice ;  neither  will  I  contribute  to  an  abor- 
tion. I  will  maintain  religiously  the  purity  and  integrity  both  of  my  conduct  and 
of  my  art.  I  will  not  cut  any  one  for  the  stone,  but  will  leave  that  operation  to 
those  who  cultivate  it.  Into  whatever  dwellings  I  may  go,  I  will  enter  them  with 
the  sole  view  of  succoring  the  sick,  abstaining  from  all  injurious  views  and  corrup- 
tion, especially  from  any  immodest  action,  towards  women  or  men,  freemen  or 
slaves.  If  during  my  attendance,  or  even  unprofessionally  in  common  life,  I  hap- 
pen to  see  or  hear  of  any  circumstances  which  should  not  be  revealed,  I  will  con- 
sider them  a  profound  secret,  and  observe  on  the  subject  a  religious  silence.  May 
I,  if  I  rigidly  observe  this  my  oath,  and  do  not  break  it,  enjoy  good  success  in  life 
and  in  my  art,  and  obtain  general  esteem  for  ever :  should  I  transgress  and  become 
a  perjurer,  may  the  reverse  be  my  lot ! 


27 

As  a  teacher  of  Anatomy,  Dr.  Porter  very  ably  dis- 
charged his  duty  to  the  class.  His  preparation  for  the 
lecture  was  always  carefully  made  and  in  good  season.  He 
was  punctual  to  his  hour,  never  keeping  the  class  waiting, 
nor  missing  the  place  assigned  him  in  the  programme  of  lec- 
tures. His  style  of  lecturing  was  by  no  means  fluent  and 
ornate,  as  was  to  be  expected  from  his  diffidence  and 
reserve,  but  it  was  characterized  by  clearness,  exactness, 
and  a  minute  acquaintance  with  his  subject.  He  thus  suc- 
ceeded in  enlisting  the  interest  of  his  large  classes  in  the 
dry  branch  he  had  to  treat,  and  held  them  attentive  to  his 
course  throughout.  Those  students  who  were  in  earnest 
about  learning — as,  to  their  praise  may  it  be  truthfully  said, 
are  the  far  larger  proportion  of  a  medical  class — held  his 
instructions  in  high  esteem. 

He  possessed  great  ability  as  a  writer,  as  is  attested  by 
his  articles  in  the  Nashville  Journal  of  Medicine  and 
Surgery,  which  were  very  widely  copied.  He  was  also  a 
neat,  cool,  dexterous,  and  successful  operator  in  surgical 
cases.  These  attainments  added  much  to  his  standing  with 
the  students,  and,  had  his  life  been  prolonged,  would  doubt- 
less have  given  him  eminent  rank  as  an  author  and  surgeon. 

In  his  personal  intercourse  with  the  students,  Dr.  Porter 
was  kind,  affable  and  dignified.  He  was  not  popular  in  the 
ordinary  acceptation  of  the  term;  for  in  the  class,  as  in 
the  community,  he  was  above  seeking  popularity.     He  was 


28 

what  is  far  better,  beloved  and  respected.  I  doubt  whether 
among  the  many  hundred  young  men  to  whom  he  lectured 
during  his  five  sessions,  there  was  one  whose  good  will  he 
failed  to  gain.  They  knew  him  to  be  reliable,  honest, 
faithful,  conscientious  in  the  discharge  of  his  obligations  to 
them ;  that  as  such  they  could  count  on  him.  This  is  the 
character  and  the  only  character,  that  ever  gains  the  perma- 
nent high  opinion  of  a  medical  class.  Brilliancy,  show, 
popular  manners,  may  make  a  great  impression  at  first  upon 
a  large  number  of  young  men,  strangers  at  the  school,  and 
eager  for  growth  in  knowledge  ;  but  without  force  of  char- 
acter and  substantial  attainment,  the  hold  thus  acquired  is 
soon  lost,  and  the  professor  rapidly  sinks  to  a  lower  even 
than  his  true  level. 

In  addition  to  mere  teaching  by  lecture  or  recitation, 
there  is  still  a  higher  function  fulfilled  by  a  teacher 
towards  his  class,  which  unhappily  is  too  little  regarded, 
indeed,  is  generally  overlooked,  and  yet  cannot,  from  its 
very  nature,  remain  unaccomplished,  but  must  be  either 
well  or  ill  performed.  Every  one  who  stands  to  a  class  in 
the  capacity  of  an  instructor,  imparts  to  that  class  some- 
thing of  his  own  spirit  and  character.  This  is  a  great  fact, 
and  holds  true  whether  the  class  is  composed  of  a  single 
individual,  or  of  hundreds ;  whether  its  members  are  child- 
ren, youth,  or  grown-up  men  and  women ;  whether  the 
subjects  taught  are  of  a  material  or  intellectual  nature,  of  a 


29 

professional,  political,  or  religious  character.  This,  which 
has  not  inaptly  been  termed  unconscious  tuition,  is  outside 
of  the  matter  taught,  and  arises  altogether  from  the  relation 
inseparable  between  teacher  and  pupil,  by  which  mind  is 
brought  in  contact  with  mind,  and  quietly,  imperceptibly, 
unwittingly,  but  infallibly,  influenced  by  that  contact. 
Upon  this  fact  depends  a  chief  responsibility  resting  upon 
all  who  in  any  way  undertake  the  great  work  of  teaching. 
The  divine  may  preach  most  scriptural  truth,  charity,  faith, 
hope ;  but  if  he  is  a  narrow-minded,  prejudiced  man,  though 
his  sermons  are  free  from  bigotry,  his  people  will  yet  be- 
come bigots.  The  political  orator  may  declaim  eloquently 
of  patriotism,  of  truth,  and  justice  :  if  truly  honest  and  sin- 
cere, and  in  earnest,  his  efforts  on  the  rostrum  will  produce 
a  highly  useful  and  elevating  effect  upon  the  thousands  who 
hear  him.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  he  is  a  mere  pretender, 
whose  great  aim  is  office,  then  do  his  harangues  merely 
train  up  heated  partisans,  and  set  to  work  unholy  strife  and 
contention.  These  are  familiar  illustrations,  which  might 
be  readily  multiplied  from  the  primary  school  upward; 
and  the  more  we  multiply  them,  the  more  will  we  be  satis- 
fied of  the  truth,  that  mere  knowledge  of  his  branch,  and 
aptness  to  communicate  that  knowledge,  is,  by  all  odds,  the 
least  important  half  of  a  teacher's  qualifications  for  his  work, 
instead  of  being  all,  as  is  too  commonly  imagined.  In  the 
dignity  and  weight  and  influence  of  this  unconscious  tuition 


30 

Dr.  Porter  was  pre-eminently  happy,  and  its  effect  was  seen 
in  a  marked  manner  upon  the  class  every  winter.  This  is 
just  what  we  would  expect  to  learn,  if  the  character  we 
have  given  him  as  a  man  was  faithfully  drawn.  And  the 
best  proof  that  our  portrait,  though  roughly  sketched,  was 
not  exaggerated,  is  the  fact  that  his  influence  upon  the 
class  was  so  great  and  useful,  and  as  such  recognized, 
acknowledged  and  appreciated  by  us  all,  pupils  and  pro- 
fessors, from  the  commencement  of  the  school. 

We  have  now  reached  the  last  point  we  have  to  consider 
in  Dr.  Porter's  history, — his  relations  to  the  Faculty  and 
School  of  Medicine  in  this  University.  When,  six  years 
since,  he  was  consulted  upon  the  subject  in  the  very  incipi- 
ency  of  the  undertaking,  he  at  once  saw  the  great  necessity 
for  such  an  institution  in  this  region  of  country,  and  was 
well  assured  of  its  certain  and  speedy  success  upon  the  plan 
proposed.  He  gave  his  hearty  endorsement  to  the  enter- 
prise of  putting  in  operation  a  new  department  of  his  vene- 
rated and  loved  Alma  Mater.  But  with  his  characteristic 
diffidence,  and  backwardness  about  speaking  in  public,  he 
doubted  much  the  propriety  of  accepting  a  chair  in  the 
school.  Even  as  early  as  in  1835,  while  at  college,  he 
wrote  to  a  brother  in  reference  to  the  study  of  the  law,  "  I 
am  very  deficient  in  one  thing  essential  to  a  public  speaker, 
'  brass,'  and  I  believe  will  never  get  the  better  of  it."  This 
same  want  of  confidence  still  alarmed  him ;  and  it  required 


ol 

great  determination  to  enable  him  finally  to  remedy  the 
deficiency. 

His  objections,  however,  were  overcome  by  reminding 
him  that  with  Anatomy  he  was  familiar ;  that  this  was  one 
of  the  leading  chairs  in  the  school,  and  could  be  filled  by 
no  one  who  was  not  a  faithful,  accurate,  and  laborious  stu- 
dent of  the  branch ;  and  that  fluency  of  speech  was  sec- 
ondary to  other  more  important  requisites,  which  were  com- 
bined in  him.  He  agreed  to  undertake  the  work,  and  from 
that  day  forward  labored  with  great  zeal  and  success  to 
advance  the  interests  of  the  school.  Born  in  Nashville,  a 
graduate  of  its  University,  he  was  imbued  with  a  warm 
attachment  to  the  scenes  of  his  boyish  and  youthful  days, 
and  a  desire  to  contribute  his  share  towards  making  his 
native  city  not  least  in  renown  and  influence  among  her 
sisters.  His  extensive  travels  and  thorough  personal  know- 
ledge of  European  and  Northern  institutions  had  only  given 
him  a  more-  lively  appreciation  of  the  advantages  of  this 
position,  and  of  the  ability  and  fitness  of  Southern  men  to 
develop  the  schools  best  fitted  to  meet  the  educational  wants 
of  their  own  reo-ion. 

Hence  he  was  willing  to  venture  largely  of  his  means, 
time,  and  labor  in  the  undertaking,  much  preferring  failure 
on  a  broad,  liberal  scale,  to  success  on  a  moderate,  insignifi- 
cant plan. 

As  a  member  of  the  Faculty,  his  course  was  uniformly 


such  as  to  justify  the  language  employed  by  his  colleagues 
on  the  occasion  of  his  death  :  "  that  they  recognized  in  that 
event "  the  loss  of  a  chief  pillar  of  an  institution  which  his 
learning,  discretion,  and  sound  judgment  so  largely  assisted 
in  founding  and  developing.  He  knew  what  a  great  seat  of 
medical  learning  should  be ;  how  extensive  the  buildings, 
how  costly  and  varied  the  means  of  illustration  required. 
He  therefore  wished  nothing  done  on  a  niggardly,  illiberal 
scale ;  but  every  thing  so  planned  and  executed  that  addi- 
tions could  continually  be  made  until  the  school  should 
become  in  all  respects  complete.  Time,  he  was  perfectly 
aware,  was  needed  for  its  growth;  but  time,  without  a 
proper  basis,  he  was  equally  aware,  could  perfect  only  an 
abortion. 

He  was  also  well  conversant  with  the  disposition  of  his 
own  Southern  people;  their  high-minded  notions;  their 
contempt  for  all  (to  use  their  peculiarly  significant  by-word) 
picayune  establishments ;  their  desire  for  great  and  influen- 
tial schools  at  home ;  their  growing  indisposition  to  be  trib- 
utary, for  medical  and  other  learning,  to  a  people  who  so 
little  comprehended  and  sympathized  with  their  institutions, 
customs,  and  feelings.  He  therefore  heartily  endorsed  the 
ground  assumed  by  this  Faculty  at  the  outset,  that  no  toil 
or  sacrifice  should  be  spared,  on  their  part,  to  make  the 
school  inferior  to  none  in  the  Union,  and  that  such  inferi- 
ority should  not,  even  by  implication,  be  recognized;  that 


Q 


3 


it  should  be  their  work  to  organize  and  commence  the  school 
on  the  right  basis,  being  sure  that  afterwards  it  would  go 
on  to  grow  and  flourish,  whether  they  retained  their  origi- 
nal, or  any  positions  in  it,  or  not. 

The  history  of  the  Medical  Department  of  the  University 
has  indeed  been  most  remarkable,  for  the  rapidity  with 
which  it  has  found  favor  with  the  profession,  and  assumed 
the  position  due  to  a  well-endowed  and  firmly-established 
school.  Though  at  its  foundation  but  one  of  numerous 
medical  colleges  in  the  country,  and  though  since  that  time 
some  six  others  have  been  commenced  in  the  same  field,  it 
has  become,  in  the  brief  period  of  five  years,  one  of  the 
three  leading  schools  of  the  United  States.  Its  organiza- 
tion and  policy  have  been,  however,  not  less  singular  than 
its  history,  and  have  no  doubt  contributed  greatly  to  the 
latter.  It  was  organized  as  an  integral  branch  of  an  old 
and  noted  University,  with  far  more  liberal  and  just  views 
on  the  subject  of  medical  education  than  have  ever  governed 
a  similar  Board  of  Trustees.  Its  Faculty  of  six  members, 
none  of  whom  had  ever  lectured  to  a  medical  class,  accepted 
their  positions  that  they  might  make  it  a  school  worthy  of 
its  name,  and  to  which  Southern  young  men  would  not  be 
ashamed  to  crowd.  They  claimed  no  inheritance  in  their 
chairs  :  they  were  all  willing  to  work  long  and  patiently,  if 
necessary,  to  build  up  the  school :  they  were  all  ready  to 
re-organize  and  re-arrange,  so  as  to  add  to  their  number 


34 

distinguished  teachers,  when  they  could  be  had,  or  as 
the  wants  of  the  school  required.  In  conformity  with  this 
elasticity  of  plan,  the  celebrated  Professors  Drake  and  Cobb 
were  at  different  times  invited  to  join  in  the  enterprise. 
Both  expressed  their  strong  assurance  that  a  brilliant  career 
awaited  the  school,  and  their  regrets  that  pledges  made  at 
other  places  prevented  their  identifying  themselves  with  its 
early  history.  These  distinguished  men  are  the  only  ones 
who  have  ever  declined  offers  of  position  from  the  school. 
Others  from  more  southern  States  than  Kentucky,  how- 
ever, were  found,  who  heartily  enlisted  in  the  work,  and 
increased  the  number  of  professors  to  seven  during  its  first 
and  to  eight  during  its  fourth  session. 

All  who  are  intimately  acquainted  with  American  schools 
of  medicine,  know  full  well  that  they  are  institutions  of  a 
very  complex  nature,  requiring  indispensably  several  ele- 
ments of  success  besides  great  teaching  ability  in  the  Fa- 
culty. The  elucidation  of  this  statement  would  furnish 
curious  and  profitable  matter  for  an  hour's  discussion.  To 
the  initiated  the  mere  statement  is  sufficient.  Now  in  all 
matters  connected  with  the  business  and  internal  affairs  of 
the  school,  our  colleague's  sound  judgment,  extensive  ac- 
quirement, and  reliable  character,  has,  from  its  first  concep- 
tion, been  of  the  greatest  service ;  and  while  the  Medical 
Department  of  the  University  of  Nashville  remains  an  orna- 
ment and  a  glory  to  this  city  and  State,  so  long  will  it  keep 


35 

fresh  the  memory  of  the  patriotism,  learning,  and  ability  of 
Robert  M.  Porter. 

Standing  in  this  sacred  desk,  and  with  the  audience 
before  me  composed  in  so  great  part  of  young  men  and  youth, 
I  cannot  close  the  duty  assigned  me  to-day  without  urging 
upon  your  attention  several  important  practical  conclusions 
strikingly  enforced  by  the  history  of  the  life  and  character 
we  have  been  considering. 

We  have  in  Dr.  Porter's  life  an  example  of  the  truly 
self-made  man ;  that  is,  of  a  man  who,  not  by  the  force  of 
extraneous  circumstances,  but  by  the  exercise  of  his  own 
intellectual  and  moral  faculties,  rises  to  eminent  usefulness 
and  honor  in  his  day.  This  is  the  proper  definition  of  the 
self-made  man,  though  somewhat  different  from  the  ordinary 
notion  of  one  who  makes  his  way  in  life  notwithstanding 
opposing  obstacles  and  difficulties,  such  as  poverty,  want  of 
friends,  and  limited  means  of  gaining  knowledge.  This 
latter  notion  is  entirely  too  limited,  and  by  implication  un- 
just and  erroneous.  Poverty,  instead  of  an  obstacle,  may 
rather  be  considered  an  aid  to  success,  furnishing  as  it  does 
a  most  powerful  motive  for  exertion.  And  he  who  makes 
his  way  notwithstanding  that  he  is  poor  and  unknown,  and 
has  few  helps  to  learning,  does  so  because  he  faithfully  uses 
the  powers  of  mind,  body,  and  soul  which  God  has  given 
him.  Diligence,  activity,  energy,  prudence,  lead  to  wealth 
and  renown;  uprightness,  meekness,  and  other  virtues,  to 


36 

esteem  and  honor.  Now  the  young  man  who  on  his 
entrance  into  life  is  blessed  with  fortune,  friends,  and  all 
the  advantages  of  education,  will  never  make  his  way,  will 
never  have  rank  and  station  in  society  as  successful  in  pub- 
lic or  private  life,  unless  he  brings  into  active  play  precisely 
the  same  qualities.  And,  par  excellence,  he  should  rather 
be  styled  self-made,  who,  though  possessing  wealth  and 
friends,  and  a  satisfactory  station  in  society,  by  the 
exertions  of  those  who  have  gone  before  him,  diligently 
applies  himself  to  work,  and  makes  himself  somebody  on 
his  own  behalf,  while  all  the  time  the  natural  laziness  of 
human  nature,  untasked  by  necessity,  would  urge  him  to 
inaction. 

Professor  Porter  was  left,  by  the  death  of  his  father 
when  quite  a  youth,  pretty  much  master  of  his  own  move- 
ments, and  with  a  handsome  competence  secured  to  him. 
Yet  you  have  seen  how  hard  he  worked.  Year  after  year 
he  passed  in  as  faithful  application  to  his  various 
studies,  as  though  he  had  no  property  and  no  friends  to 
help  him  through  the  world.  "  I  abominate  doing  nothing," 
was  his  energetic  expression  at  Princeton.  This  steady 
application  and  faithful  trueness  to  himself  made  him — and 
nothing  less  will  ever  make  any  of  you,  young  gentlemen — 
distinguished  from  the  common  herd  of  inert,  sluggish  men 
who  eat,  drink,  sleep,  live  and  die.  Genius  will  not  make 
you :  wealth  is  only  an  impediment  in  your  way,  unless, 


37 

with  almost  unearthly  watchfulness,  you  guard  against  its 
siren  seductions :  able  teachers,  books,  time  for  study,  all 
are  mere  circumstances,  favoring  your  progress,  but  of  no 
avail  without  self-control,  self-reliance,  and  earnest  per- 
sonal effort. 

The  great  value  and  utility  of  a  long  and  varied  course 
of  instruction  and  of  thorough  preparation,  as  enabling  its 
possessor  to  take  at  once  a  high  rank  in  his  calling,  is  well 
exemplified  in  the  case  before  us.  Our  young  men  are  in 
too  great  haste  to  get  to  work,  and  hence  multitudes  of  them 
enter  upon  the  active  work  of  life  after  very  slender  train- 
ing for  the  same.  A  lamentable  mistake,  condemning  them 
for  ever  to  a  position  of  mere  mediocrity,  unless  they  after- 
wards— which  is  rarely  the  case — master  the  principles 
upon  which  their  callings  depend. 

Again,  we  see  most  strikingly  enforced  the  fact  that  it  is 
not  in  man  that  walketh  to  direct  his  steps.  We  may  plan 
and  arrange  the  future  course  of  our  lives  ever  so  surely 
and  wisely,  as  we  think,  but  for  the  most  part  our  plans  are 
altogether  changed  by  circumstances  beyond  our  control,  or 
else  the  details  are  quite  differently  arranged,  and  in  many 
cases  we  are  brought  to  engage  in  the  very  pursuits  which 
we  have  been  endeavoring  to  avoid.  We  have  seen  how 
Dr.  Porter  would  not  enter  upon  the  duties  either  of  the 
lawyer  or  the  minister,  because  he  dreaded  public  speak- 
ing :  he  consequently  devoted  himself  to  medicine.     Yet 


38 

this  very  pursuit  brought  him  into  a  position  where  it  was 
his  almost  daily  function  to  address  large  audiences  of 
young  men,  (for  half  the  year,)  and  just  as  much  compelled 
him  to  overcome  this  natural  distaste  as  would  either  of  the 
other  professions,  and  under  circumstances  more  difficult 
and  trying  than  usually  attend  the  beginner  in  those  pro- 
fessions. Still  no  portion  of  his  days  was  really  happier, 
or  furnished  more  satisfaction  to  himself.  Man  may  devise, 
but  God  directs. 

Lastly  and  most  forcibly  of  all,  this  history  teaches  us 
the  utter  uncertainty  of  human  life. 

Dr.  Porter  was,  with  one  exception,  the  youngest  of  a 
Faculty  composed  of  eight  members :  he  was  of  robust 
stature,  a  strongly-knit  frame,  and  bade  fair  to  enjoy  many 
years  to  come.  At  the  time  of  his  decease  he  was 
arranging  his  affairs  so  as  to  make  him  independent  of  the 
drudgery  of  his  profession,  and  give  him  leisure  for  per- 
fecting himself  as  a  teacher  and  for  scientific  research. 
Five  months  since,  and  we  all  predicted  for  him  length  of 
days,  prosperity,  and  long-continued  usefulness.  A  brief, 
unforeseen,  and  unusual  disease,  rapidly  and  suddenly 
changed  all  this ;  and  nothing  now  remains  to  us  but  the 
memory  of  a  life  well  spent. 

In  this  large  audience,  now  listening  with  sympathizing 
interest,  composed  of  every  age,  from  the  college  lad  to  the 
venerable  and  revered  patriarchs  of  our  district,  there  is  not 


39 

one  of  whom  we  can  say,  Thou  slialt  be  next :  there  is  not 
one  to  whom  we  can  say,  To-morrow  is  thine.  One  fact 
alone  is  certain,  that  but  a  few  years  shall  elapse  ere  every 
one  now  here  shall  have  ceased  to  live :  ere  the  grave  shall 
be  our  home,  and  this  glorious  world,  with  all  its  pomp  and 
splendor,  variety  and  beauty,  a  thing  of  naught  to  us. 

Were  this  the  end,  then  on  all  such  occasions — and  often 
do  they  come — we  would  be  compelled  in  sorrow  to  exclaim, 
Vanity  of  vanities  !  vanity  of  vanities  !  all  is  vanity  ! 

But  this  is  not  the  end.  Whatever  may  have  been  the 
fears  and  hopes  and  uncertain  beliefs  of  the  sages  of  Greece 
and  Egypt,  of  Persia  and  India ;  whatever  are  the  gloomy 
apprehensions  or  vague  doubts  of  nations  now  flourishing 
in  other  portions  of  this  earth,  we  have  a  more  sure  word 
of  prophecy,  whereunto  we  do  well  that  we  take  heed,  as 
unto  a  light  that  shineth  in  a  dark  place ;  which  teaches 
us  that  they  that  sleep  in  the  dust  of  the  earth  shall  awake, 
some  to  everlasting  life,  and  some  to  shame  and  everlasting 
contempt. 

As  our  friend,  preceptor,  and  brother  gave  heed  to  these 
great  truths  of  God's  word,  and  though  untimely,  as  men 
say,  called  away,  yielded  a  willing,  contented,  trusting  obe- 
dience to  the  unlooked-for  summons,  so  let  us  herein  imitate 
his  example,  and  we  too  shall  find  that  our  faith  and  hope 
are  built  upon  a  rock. 


40 

.  The  soul  decays  not :  freed  from  earth 
And  earthly  toils,  it  bursts  away : 

Receiving  a  celestial  birth, 

And  spurning  off  its  bonds  of  clay, 

It  soars  and  seeks  another  sphere, 

And  blooms  through  Heaven's  eternal  year. 

Do  good,  shun  evil :  live  not  thou, 
As  if  in  death  thy  being  died ; 

Nor  Error's  siren  voice  allow 

To  draw  thy  steps  from  truth  aside  : 

Look  to  the  journey's  end — the  grave ! 

And  trust  in  Him  whose  arm  can  save. 


41 


APPENDIX. 


-+*- 


[From  the  Nashville  Journal  of  Medicine  and  Surgery,  August  1856.] 

mwti)  of  f  rofrssot  H.  Jtt,  potter,  JW-  ®> 

Since  our  last  issue,  the  grave  has  claimed  our  friend  and 
colleague,  Dr.  R.  M.  Porter.  Those  who  have  so  often 
looked  upon  his  manly  form  and  pleasant  face  in  the  amphi- 
theatre, in  society,  and  at  the  sick-bed,  will  see  him  no 
more  for  ever.  Of  all  the  men  we  have  ever  known,  he 
was  the  most  unobtrusive  and  unpretending.  A  scholar, 
in  the  most  circumscribed  and  rigid  acceptation  of  the 
term,  and  master  in  all  of  the  learned  professions,  he 
walked  about  among  men  with  maiden  modesty  and  the 
frankness  and  simplicity  of  childhood.  A  nobler  heart 
never  pulsated  in  the  bosom  of  man,  for  he  was  the  very 
soul  of  honor.  The  last  of  the  following  resolutions  of 
the  Faculty  will  explain  why  we  do  not  extend  this  ar- 
ticle. Full  justice  will  be  done  this  truly  great  man  by  a 
far  more  able  hand  than  wields  this  pen,  which,  never- 
theless, is  ready  to  exalt  the  memory  of  one  whom  as 
a  man  we  loved,  as  a  colleague  we  admired  in  full  and 
abiding  confidence,  and,  as  a  brother,  had  our  warmest 
sympathies  and  our  most  exalted  regard. 


42 


TRIBUTE  OF  RESPECT  TO  THE  MEMORY  OF  DR.  ROBERT  M. 

PORTER. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  physicians  of  Nashville,  Dr.  Boyd 
M'Nairy  being  called  to  the  chair,  and  Dr.  G.  A.  J.  May- 
field  appointed  Secretary,  on  motion  of  Dr.  J.  D.  Winston, 
the  Chair  nominated  a  committee  to  draft  resolutions  in 
relation  to  the  death  of  the  lamented  Dr.  Robert  M.  Porter, 
consisting  of  Drs.  Atchison,  Morton,  and  Nichol,  who  re- 
ported the  following,  which  was  adopted : 

Whereas,  It  has  pleased  Divine  Providence  to  remove 
from  our  midst  our  friend  and  brother,  Dr.  Robert  M. 
Porter ;  we,  who  have  shared  his  toils,  and  witnessed  his 
unsparing  devotion  to  the  highest  and  holiest  duties  of  a 
self-sacrificing  profession,  may  be  permitted  to  voice  our 
grief  for  his  untimely  loss.  He  has  been  cut  down  in  the 
prime  of  manhood,  in  the  ripeness  of  intellect,  and  in  the 
zenith  of  usefulness.  In  him,  suffering  humanity  has  lost 
a  friend,  society  an  ornament,  and  science  an  ardent 
devotee.  With  wealth,  he  preserved  the  meek  spirit  of  a 
Christian ;  with  learning,  the  modest  simplicity  of  a  child  : 
neither  pride  of  place  nor  consciousness  of  superior  intel- 
lectual attainments  ever  made  him  forgetful  of  those  kindly 
courtesies  and  gentle  amenities  which  so  distinguished  his 
private  and  professional  intercourse.  In  early  life,  he 
entered  the  academic  halls  of  his  native  State,  and  won 


43 

the  highest  honors ;  going  thence  to  Cambridge,  he  entered 
upon  the  study  of  law,  enriching  his  mind  with  its  broad 
principles  :  he  then  turned  his  attention  to  the  higher  walks 
of  Divinity,  where  the  purity  of  his  heart  found  its  conge- 
nial affinities.  But  that  modesty  for  which  he  was  distin- 
guished, deterred  him  from  the  pursuit  of  a  profession 
requiring  a  prominence  from  which  he  shrank :  he  next 
turned  his  attention  to  the  study  of  medicine,  and  in  its 
quiet  and  unobtrusive  walks,  its  labors  of  love,  and  un- 
heralded triumphs  over  disease  and  death,  found  that 
theatre  of  action  best  suited  to  his  unpretending  modesty, 
active  philanthropy,  and  Christian  benevolence.  As  an 
expression  of  our  appreciation  of  his  worth  as  a  man,  his 
ripe  attainments  as  a  scholar,  and  usefulness  as  a  physi- 
cian, be  it,  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  in  the  death  of  Dr.  R.  M.  Porter, 
society  has  lost  an  exemplary  Christian,  science  a  bright 
ornament,  and  our  profession  one  of  its  most  honored  and 
esteemed  members. 

Resolved,  That  while  we  refrain  from  obtruding  stereo- 
typed expressions  of  condolence  upon  the  afflicted  family, 
we  may  be  permitted  to  mingle  our  sincere  sympathies 
with  their  deep  sorrow  for  a  bereavement  so  untimely,  so 
mournful,  and  so  irreparable. 

Resolved,  That  in  testimony  of  respect  for  the  deceased, 
we  wear  the  usual  badge  of  mourning  for  thirty  days. 


44 

Dr.  J.  D.  Winston  then  moved  the  publication  of  the 
proceedings  of  the  meeting  in  the  city  papers ;  and  Dr. 
Morton,  the  furnishing  with  the  same  the  family  of  the 
deceased ;  both  of  which  motions  were  adopted. 


The  Students  of  the  Medical  Department  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  Nashville  having  met  for  the  purpose  of  giving 
exj>ression  of  their  feelings  in  reference  to  the  death  of 
the  lamented  Pt.  M.  Porter,  Professor  of  Anatomy ;  C.  H. 
Gunn,  of  Massachusetts ;  J.  W.  Brown,  of  Tennessee ;  J. 
M.  Driver,  of  Louisiana;  L.  J.  Applewhite,  of  Georgia; 
J.  R.  G.  Faucette,  of  North  Carolina;  N.  Miller,  of  Ala- 
bama ;  G.  T.  Bartlett,  of  Missouri ;  E.  M.  Dupree,  of  South 
Carolina;  D.  H.  Armstrong,  of  Mississippi;  and  W.  G. 
Daniel,  of  Texas,  were  appointed  by  the  Chair  to  draft 
resolutions,  who  reported  the  following  preamble  and  reso- 
lutions, which  were  unanimously  adopted  : 

Whereas,  We  have  received  the  painful  intelligence  of 
the  death  of  our  beloved  Professor,  R.  M.  Porter,  M.  D. : 

Resolved,  That  we  submit  with  all  becoming  humility 
to  this  dispensation  of  the  Supreme  Architect  of  the  Uni- 
verse, while  we  deeply  deplore  the  loss  of  so  estimable  a 
man. 

Resolved,  That  in  the  loss  of  Dr.  Porter,  the  profession 


45 

is  deprived  of  one  of  its  brightest  ornaments,  the  Medical 
Department  of  the  University  of  Nashville  of  one  of  its 
most  efficient  teachers,  his  family  of  an  affectionate  hus- 
band and  parent,  and  the  community  at  large  of  one  of 
their  best  citizens. 

Resolved,  That  his  private,  public,  and  professional 
character  all  evince  the  belief  that  in  his  removal  from 
this  life  of  usefulness,  Divine  Providence  has  called  him  to 
that  "  building  of  God — that  house  not  made  with  hands, 
eternal  in  the  heavens." 

Resolved,  That  we  tender  to  the  surviving  relatives  of 
Dr.  Porter  our  heartfelt  sympathy  in  this  their  sad  be- 
reavement. 

Resolved,  That  we  deeply  sympathize  with  the  Medical 
Faculty  in  the  loss  of  their  most  worthy  colleague,  Dr.  R. 
M.  Porter. 

Resolved,  That  the  proceedings  of  this  meeting  be  pub- 
lished in  the  Medical  Journal  and  city  papers,  and  that  a 
copy  be  sent  to  the  family  of  the  deceased. 

W.  H.  CHILDRESS,  of  Tennessee,  Pres't. 

H.  M.  Compton,  of  Texas,  Sec'y. 


At  a  meeting  of  the  Medical  Faculty  of  the  University 
of  Nashville,  held  at  11  o'clock,  A.  M.,  on  the  1st  day  of 
July,  1856,  it  was  announced  to  the  Faculty  that  their 


46 

colleague,  Professor  R.  M.  Porter,  M.  D.,  had  that  morning, 
between  the  hours  of  7  and  8,  after  a  severe  affliction  of 
more  than  two  weeks'  duration,  departed  this  life. 

Drs.  W.  K.  Bowling  and  T.  R.  Jennings  wrere  appointed 
a  committee  to  draft  resolutions  expressive  of  the  feelings 
of  the  Faculty  in  relation  to  this  sad  event ;  whereupon, 
the  chairman  of  this  committee  reported  the  following  pre- 
amble and  resolutions,  which  were  unanimously  adopted  by 
the  Faculty : 

"Whereas,  It  has  pleased  God  that  our  fellow-citizen, 
friend,  colleague,  and  brother,  R.  M.  Porter,  should  die, 
and  be  known  no  more  among  men  in  the  flesh,  we  have 
thought  it  right  and  proper,  in  justice  to  his  memory,  to 
pass  the  following  resolutions  : 

Resolved,  That  in  the  death  of  R.  M.  Porter  we  recog- 
nize the  loss  of  a  chief  pillar  of  an  institution  which  his 
learning,  discretion,  and  sound  judgment  so  largely  assisted 
in  founding  and  developing. 

Resolved,  That  in  the  many  relations  which  our  late 
colleague  sustained  toward  us,  he  so  bore  himself  that  our 
affection,  regard,  and  confidence  were  strengthened  and 
deepened  by  each  passing  year;  that  to  a  mind  deeply 
imbued  with  medical  learning,  he  added  the  pleasantness 
of  the  accomplished  gentleman,  and  was  in  all  things  what 
the  good  everywhere  delight  to  honor. 


47 

Resolved,  That  the  Chancellor  of  the  University  be  re- 
quested, at  the  opening  of  the  next  session  of  the  Medical 
Department,  to  deliver  a  public  address  upon  the  life  and 
character  of  our  departed  friend  and  brother. 


